Novice here, I think I just fell in love...

So as a novice I've made the conscious decision to start at the base of the pyramid and work my way up. In other words I'm exploring all the quality budget bourbons that I can find in MI. Today I stumbled across Ancient Ancient Age 10 star, and all I can say is.....wow....For $16 a bottle this stuff is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I was so excited about trying the 10 year, then realized it's not sold in MI...damn...

Re: Novice here, I think I just fell in love...

The base is the place! Someday I hope to stumble across 10 star as well. Here we only have AA 36 month (which I bought last year but have not yet had the courage to open). Cheers to you and happy pyramid excavating.

Re: Novice here, I think I just fell in love...

Originally Posted by a1w1ll

So as a novice I've made the conscious decision to start at the base of the pyramid and work my way up. In other words I'm exploring all the quality budget bourbons that I can find in MI. Today I stumbled across Ancient Ancient Age 10 star, and all I can say is.....wow....For $16 a bottle this stuff is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I was so excited about trying the 10 year, then realized it's not sold in MI...damn...

I was in your shoes about 2 months ago and can relate to starting at the base of the pyramid. I think that's the way to go. My first purchases were all the basics like Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey 101, Evan Williams Black, Old Grand Dad Bottled-In-Bond, Maker's Mark, etc. From there you can work your way up. You'll be able to figure out which types of mash bills taste best to you. Ancient Ancient Age uses a higher amount of rye, so you might be a good candidate for one of the Old Grand Dads.

Welcome to the wonderful world of bourbon! Once you become more experienced at tasting, you'll be better able to appreciate the premium stuff. Just about everyone here will attest to the fact that sometimes the $15-20 bottles are better than some of the ones going for $40+.

Re: Novice here, I think I just fell in love...

It is a lot of fun to go through the boards to find bourbons you think you'll like and then go try them. Just when you think you're good, you decide to try one more and then now what do you buy....

I was that way until I tried EWSB 2003 and WTRB. Now I want more of those. Then I hear good things about RR10 and that is good, but how does this Hancock's taste y'all are talking about? And on and on it goes.

Re: Novice here, I think I just fell in love...

That AAA 10 Star is one of my favs in that price range. I did some blind taste tests with that and AAA 10 yr (which is pretty similarly priced - maybe $1-2 more), and on three different occasions, I landed on them being close enough for me (YMMV). The one challenge I've found on my journey is that there is a LOT of really good bourbon out there. I used to try to pick "winners" in price bands, with the thought that I only needed 10 bottles for enough variety. And then you try something new

Gary (aka 'Country')=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough." - Mark Twain
"Because Whiskey Matters!" - David Perkins

Re: Novice here, I think I just fell in love...

Originally Posted by HighHorse

How's that "I only needed 10 bottles for enough variety" thing working out for you Gary??

Yeah . . . not so much. Just like my "I'm not buying any more whiskey this year except for commitments already made". I'm proud that I made it 6 weeks - and hopefully that I can climb back on that horse Although I explained to my wife that the mixed bag of 200 & 375 mL bottles I picked up this morning hardly counted since it was less than $25 for 5. She seemed to buy into that logic

Gary (aka 'Country')=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough." - Mark Twain
"Because Whiskey Matters!" - David Perkins

Re: Novice here, I think I just fell in love...

Completely understand. Keep most of my bunker at my office with two full cabinets. The stash I brought back from our visit with you guys in ATL is on the floor so we picked up lumber to build a new 6 ft. long shelf for me. One day my wife is going to drop by and I'm gonna have some 'splainin' to do.